Toss Up (The Toss Trilogy) Read Online Free

room where Jim sat in front of the fire. There was a stubborn jut to her chin. “Jim, thanks for your support—”
    “You have to call the police.”
    “No, I’m not calling the police. Nothing really happened. I just got the jitters for a bit. I’m fine now.”
    He grimaced—this is what he’d been afraid of. Sally was nothing if not stubborn. “You have to call the police. This is a stalker you’ve got yourself. They don’t just go away.”
    “Yes, they do.” She was getting his jacket from the entry way and holding it out toward him. “Trust me. I have experience with this. Ignore it, and it will go away.”
    He rose and took the jacket out of her hands. Walking to the entr yway, he hung it back on the coat rack and turned, prepared for a fight. “It will not go away. And what do you mean you have experience with this?”
    Sally sighed. “You want a cup of coffee? I’m too tired to argue with you standing up.” She led the way to the kitchen table.
    Tired or not, he knew he had trouble on his hands now. He followed and sat, holding up a hand to refuse the mug she waved toward him. She filled hers from the coffeemaker carafe, added creamer and joined him at the table. “So, okay. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten anonymous notes.”
    He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
    “Off and on in college I would get the odd note from some guy saying how well I played in a game, or how pretty I was, or whatever. No big deal. Same handwriting each time. No signature. So I threw them away. My junior year, the notes stopped. I ignored him, and he finally quit.
    God save him from women who thought they knew what they were dealing with—she had no idea. “But this isn’t college. This is no bashful kid sending you compliments—”
    “You didn’t let me finish. There’s more.”
    Great. “Okay, so finish.”
    She finished her coffee and set the mug down. “When Trent and I were living on base at Pendleton, the same thing happened. I ignored the notes, and eventually they stopped coming. If this guy gets no r esponse, he’ll lose interest, trust me.”
    Jim stared at her calm green eyes, keeping his expression bland. B ehind his impassive facade, incredulity warred with anger. She was telling him someone—maybe the same person—had been stalking her off and on for the last fourteen years, and she insisted it was no big deal. He kept his tone neutral. “Tell me more about the time in California. What did your husband say?”
    “Oh, I didn’t bother Trent with it. The notes were anonymous, but they were friendly, not sexy or scary. Besides, they only came when he was deployed, and I never kept them.”
    Jim opened his mouth to speak.
    “Don’t look at me like that. Everyone on base knew who was d eployed and where, there was nothing sinister about it. I sometimes wondered if Trent had asked a friend to keep an eye out for me when he was away. I would have asked him about it eventually...” Jim saw the ghost of pain in her eyes. “…but he died. And obviously I couldn’t ask him while he was deployed.” She gave him a look that said, “Don’t be dense.”
    Jim took a deep breath and released it, praying for patience. “You couldn’t tell him while he was away because you knew it would worry him. Because you knew it wasn’t really ‘no big deal.’ You were fortunate not to have the situation escalate in college, and again in California. This time you might not be so lucky.”
    Sally gave him an unyielding stare. “Look, I know you mean well. You’re a good friend and I appreciate your concern, but I’m not going to call the police. This is no different than before, and I am going to go with what works—ignoring it. Now, please go home. I’m tired and I have a busy day tomorrow.”
    Jim rubbed his forehead. No matter how much he didn’t like her d ecision, their friendship didn’t give him the right to force her to call the police. “Right. I’m gone.” He’d just have to